The official was killed during a party celebrating his birthday when one of the presents exploded, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief has revealed
Major Gennady Chastyakov, an aide to Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, has been killed in a blast at his home, the commander-in-chief has announced.
The incident occurred on Monday when Chastyakov was celebrating his birthday, Zaluzhny said in a statement posted on social media.
An “unknown explosive device” was concealed inside one of the presents, the commander-in-chief claimed.
Unverified footage circulated by local media and said to have been taken from the site of the incident, however, shows multiple hand grenades scattered among damaged presents. An empty syringe is also visible in the photo. The grenades appear to be DM51/DM51A2 frags, German standard-issue military munitions, which have been supplied by Berlin to Kiev amid the conflict with Russia.
The explosive present, according to the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper report, contained “alcohol bottles” and “souvenir grenade-shaped cups.”
Chastyakov’s wife claimed the grenade exploded in her husband’s hands. The explosive was in a gift bag that he had brought home himself, she said, according to law enforcement sources cited by the newspaper.
